If you are a parent or relative of a child in the Ethical Culture Fieldston School or the YMCA, you should be terrified when your kids are at school. Yesterday I shot a video of the ECFS kids crossing that crosswalk with the right of way and bicycles continuing thru at what I would call an "earnest" speed, a little short of racing. I forwarded that video to the decision-makers shown below last night, reiterating my demand that a speed reducer be installed at that crosswalk before Labor Day, 2022. The Dropbox link for this video is below.

This morning I observed the crosswalk again and shot another video, even more terrifying. This time ECFS had sent a security guard with the teachers and again a group of racing bicycles, this time moving at real racing speed, continued thru the intersection, against the light, when the pedestrians had the right of way and the kids were halfway thru the crosswalk, despite the attempts of the security guard and two teachers to stop them. The security guard did his best but had he tried to block the crosswalk, there was a real danger the bikes would have swerved to avoid him and plowed into the children, just as the cyclist who killed Jill Tarlov did in this crosswalk in 2014. There was just nothing he could do. I again forwarded this video to the decision-makers shown below reiterating my demand. The Dropbox link for this video is also below.

Here are the people in the decision-making loop so far:

• Rob Cousins, Principal at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, RCousins@ecfs.org
• Kathryn Colglazier, Senior Executive Director, NY YMCA, KColglazier@ymcanyc.org
• Roger Mosier, Central Park Conservancy, Chief of Park Operations, RMosier@centralparknyc.org
• Colleen Chattergoon, NY Department of Transportation Manhattan Community Coordinator, CChattergoon@dot.nyc.gov
• Kimberly Rancourt, NY Department of Transportation Director of Special Projects, KRancourt@dot.nyc.gov

Still trying to get contact information for Ken Coughlin who is a member of Community Board 7 and sits on the Parks and Environment Committee and the Transportation Committee, which discussed this issue 2 years ago and has done nothing further. The next CB7 full board meeting is June 7 at 6:30 pm.

I also took photos of the approach to the crosswalk. There are two sets of signs. The speed limit is posted at 10 mph about 75 paces (250 feet more or less) from the crosswalk. Much closer to the crosswalk are pedestrian crossing signs but no mention of kids or schools. Obviously, NY DOT does not think this qualifies as a school speed zone even though it is less than 350 feet from two schools.

I also made and printed some posters to promote the Change.org petition and handed them out to teachers and security personnel from the ECFS and pasted them to the traffic control signal equipment box and the concrete bases of the signage there. Park maintenance will remove these posters but I will replace them and I will photograph the maintenance people who are doing it and ask their names, then contact Roger Mosier at the CPC to see if he will agree to stop removing them.

This is Memorial Day weekend so there won't be classes at the schools until Tuesday. I can shoot literally hundreds of videos of the small-wheeled e-vehicles and cycles barreling thru this crosswalk against the light this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday but the compelling evidence is when kids are in the crossing and the cyclists are charging thru. That will resume on Tuesday.

My deadline is Labor Day 2022, for this to be complete and a speed reducer installed.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO HELP.

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, POST TO SOCIAL MEDIA, AND LOCATE EVERY FORUM WHERE PARENTS OF THESE SCHOOLKIDS ARE CONGREGATING.

NOTHING WILL HAPPEN AT ALL EXCEPT FURTHER STUDIES OF THIS PROBLEM UNLESS YOU TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

May 26, 2022 Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yfy0wc9fjq3q447/20220526%20Racing%20Cyclists%20Speeding%20thru%20Crosswalk%20Against%20Light.mp4?dl=0

May 27, 2022 Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ect03hvzb2k12h2/20220527%20Racing%20Cyclists%20Speeding%20thru%20Crosswalk%20Against%20Light.mp4?dl=0